Chapter 3 Making Pig Slaughtering Powder
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the young lady eagerly peeked out for a moment, only to be forcibly pushed back down by the maid beside her, who had been keeping her head down and eyes lowered.
Seeing her mistress's state, the maidservant hadn't even let out a sigh before getting out of the carriage on her own. She then casually tossed a half-full purse to Jiang Zhi and handed her a fairly clean-looking earthenware jar to her mistress.
To everyone's surprise, while her maid was still painstakingly maintaining her image, the young lady didn't care at all. She simply tilted her head back and gulped it down.
After just the first sip, the young woman wanted to exhale deeply: in the hot summer night breeze, the cool vapors from the iced drink combined with the refreshing sensation of mint, filling her mouth and throat, which was still steaming, and it truly felt wonderful—
So comfortable!
The young lady's eyes lit up repeatedly, and with a few gulps of her throat, she finished off the entire can of iced drink.
Jiang Zhi stood there with her arms crossed as usual, which inexplicably made the crowd that had been gossiping earlier feel awkward:
If the girl who questioned him the first time could be considered to be putting on an act with the boss, then how could the boss possibly bribe this noble lady who was clearly new to the place and whom he did not know well?
*
Before long, Jiang Zhi's stall was packed with people. Unlike before, this time countless people reached out and weighed the food, trying to get a small discount on the weight.
After all, everyone now knows that this boss is probably quite capable, otherwise it would be rare for two passersby to praise him so highly at the same time.
So, when the slow-witted people finally came to their senses, they saw more and more people crowding in front of the boss, rushing to make their selections.
Jiang Zhi smiled even more as she received the money. While she was busy taking and counting the money, her other hand would suddenly reach out from a corner and steadily straighten the can when everyone was pushing and shoving it.
As the crowds gradually dispersed, the goods on the stall were completely gone.
Jiang Zhi finally had a moment to relax and wipe the sweat from her forehead. Although she had seemed extremely composed just now, this was her first time doing business across different eras, and she was somewhat uncertain about the future.
However, her eyes lit up when she saw the huge pile of copper coins in her hand.
It's important to know that her main cost comes from lemons, which cost 300 copper coins. The rest of the ingredients add up to less than 100 copper coins, so the total cost is approximately 400 copper coins.
But what about the returns?
A total of 50 jars, each priced at 15 copper coins, and 750 copper coins were obtained just like that.
According to Jiang Zhi's modern business acumen, this gross profit margin is nearly 50%. In short, they're making a killing!
Jiang Zhi took a deep breath, and her throat, which had been tired for a long time, suddenly felt as sweet as honey, and her heavy arms seemed to float in the clouds.
Admittedly, it's not a lot of money.
But for Jiang Zhi, this money not only meant she could finally escape the original owner's past of having no income and only expenses, but it also symbolized something else—
She can truly use what she has seen and learned in modern times to find a way out in this era!
How could she not be happy?
*
Jiang Zhi carefully put the money she had just counted into her purse, then packed her things and prepared to leave.
She has another pressing matter to attend to: her housing problem remains unresolved.
Before it got completely dark, she had to hurry and go to the place Aunt Zhao had mentioned.
"Knock knock knock",
Jiang Zhi knocked on the dark door of the address Aunt Zhao had given her with one hand, muttering to herself as she did so:
Everyone says that you should look at the door before you look at the house. This door doesn't look like the home of a poor scholar at all.
However, she didn't think much of it, simply assuming that the scholar was quite concerned about his reputation and that the house inside was probably already dilapidated.
After knocking a few times, no one appeared, but a voice came from behind the door, growing louder as it approached.
"...Where did you two drag me to today—?"
"Wait, who are you?"
A man, smoothing his still-wet hair, opened the door with one hand and glanced around casually.
But his casual glance stopped abruptly when he saw who it was.
Jiang Zhi was also sizing up this potential future landlord:
At first glance, she thought he was a handsome young man with rosy lips and white teeth!
Upon closer inspection, he was clearly a handsome man with bright eyes, sparse eyebrows, and white teeth; only his fox-like eyes had a slightly mischievous quality, giving him a rather—
A light and charming feeling.
However, it could also be because the handsome man's clothes were currently half-open. Jiang Zhi carefully added in her mind.
Jiang Zhi was secretly admiring him, but on the surface, she still smiled politely at the person, revealing a small dimple:
"Young master, I heard from Aunt Zhao on the next street that you're also looking for tenants for your house?"
Pei Ye was taken aback.
He translated the phrase "looking for a tenant" directly as "He thinks this shabby house is too big?"
So, the moment his brain finally caught on, he couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
If his cronies ever heard that the second son of the Pei family complained that there weren't enough people in the house, they would laugh for three days and three nights before they would stop.
However, with no one around, he rubbed his chin, glanced at the bright, dark-eyed girl outside the door, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself:
Let's just say that his compassion for the weak, which he hadn't shown in over twenty years, suddenly resurfaced!
"Yes, that's right!"
Pei Ye accepted this situation hesitantly. He also straightened his collar, which he hadn't quite pulled up properly, but then the girl in front of him said something that completely baffled him.
"Okay, that's perfect. May I take a look at the room today so I can make a decision in time?"
The second young master of the Pei family, who has always been a pampered person, had no idea about the process of renting a house. Hearing that Jiang Zhi clearly wanted to move in tonight, he was so frustrated that his expression became somewhat ferocious.
However, he ultimately forced himself to remain calm, coughed twice forcefully, and said:
"Alright, please come in."
...
Ultimately, after discussion between the two, Jiang Zhi rented an empty room from Pei Ye for one tael and one mace for a year, and during this period she could use the kitchen and toilet.
Jiang Zhi was actually a little surprised. She had gone to see it specifically, and the house would definitely cost much more if it were actually rented out. She had deliberately tried to lower the price to give this young master a sense of expectation, but to her surprise, he agreed without even haggling.
This left her with many questions: How come this impoverished young master, who had to rent out his house, didn't haggle to a price that made him seem extravagant?
But she quickly convinced herself: maybe it was because he was too extravagant that he was so poor!
*
So, as the bell ringer walked into the street, announcing the complete arrival of this deep twilight night, Jiang Zhi had already diligently moved all her belongings here, like a little worker ant.
After quickly tidying up the rented room, I drifted off to sleep on my first night in this new world.
*
As dawn broke, Jiang Zhi had already woken up.
I was woken up by the heat.
She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and neck, and couldn't help but miss modern air conditioners and fans.
However, no matter how hot the weather was, she still had to start her busy day.
She quickly got up and washed up, grabbed a thin jacket, put it on hastily, and then hurriedly went out.
Why are you up so early?
It was early morning market day, and she needed to buy some vegetables to keep at home. Regardless of what was on display at the night market, she needed to get moving early just for breakfast.
"Two cucumbers, please!"
"Winter melon, boss, cut me a five-cent one!"
"Give me a bunch of cowpeas!"
...
After buying the vegetables, Jiang Zhi gradually accumulated more and more things, to the point that she had to carry some things in one hand. However, she still made sure to check out the pig slaughtering stall, hoping to find a bargain.
Sure enough, the fresh pig lungs and large intestines were just casually discarded on the ground. Jiang Zhi specifically asked the owner about it.
The tall, burly butcher glanced at her dismissively, and seeing her appearance, casually offered her twenty coins to take her away.
They even threw her half a rope.
Jiang Zhi lifted it to make sure it was secure, then tied the pig lungs and large intestines to both sides of the rope, and carried it straight to the river outside the city. After checking that no one was around, she rolled up her sleeves and began to wash them quickly.
There was no way around it; given her preconceived notions about landlords, she probably could tolerate her for a while, but the smell would make her kick her out.
Vegetables are generally easy to wash. The fertilizer used in this era is all farmyard manure. As long as you wash them slightly and check carefully to make sure there are no insects on them, you're done.
Then, with a frown, she began to wash the organ that resembled pig lungs and intestines—
The stench of the intestines was almost unbearable for her. So she dealt with the main odor first:
Jiang Zhi first held her breath and turned her intestines inside out. Then she used two stones to weigh them down and made sure they wouldn't float away before letting them be washed away by the water.
After finishing all this, Jiang Zhi's cheeks were flushed red. She hurriedly ran upstream, took a few breaths of fresh air, washed her face, and then continued washing the pig lungs:
Pig lungs aren't actually smelly, they're just a hassle, which is why people in this era are reluctant to deal with them.
However, Jiang Zhi laughed as she untied the hemp rope, like a cunning little fox.
After all, she knew a little trick about washing this—
Soaking pig lungs in water alone may not be enough to clean them properly, so she pulled a long, thin bamboo tube from her person and inserted one end into the trachea. Once she was sure it was sealed tightly, she plunged the other end directly into the flowing water by the river.
The running water flowed directly into the pig's lungs through the bamboo tube. Jiang Zhi was still not satisfied, so she squeezed out the bloody water with her other hand to make sure it was clean inside and out. Only then did she take it out of the water.
After a long while, the pig intestines and lungs were finally cleaned of impurities. Taking advantage of this time, Jiang Zhi took out the coarse salt she had bought at the market and carefully sprinkled it on the two.
Then they rubbed the two pieces repeatedly on the big rock.
After a long time, the stench finally disappeared, and the initial cleaning was considered complete.
She then picked up the hemp rope again, washed it several times in the flowing river, tied it into a knot, and carried the two items back to her rented room with one hand.
*
The Second Young Master Pei didn't wake up very early.
When he squinted and came to his senses, the sun was already shining obliquely into the room.
He yawned casually, and as he half-buttoned his shirt like a fox and prepared to get up to open the door, he froze when he suddenly heard the clanging sound of stir-frying outside.
He suddenly remembered his pitiful moment yesterday—
Now that his house is no longer empty, he can't just leave empty-handed.
So he lowered his head and buttoned up his clothes.
"Miss Jiang, what are you doing in the kitchen?"
He called out lazily, but a fragrant aroma answered for him before Jiang Zhi could.
Pei Ye fiddled with the jade pendant hanging from his waist as he looked up and saw the girl busy at the stove. She wasn't big or strong; in fact, she was rather thin and frail. Yet, she was wielding a large spatula and flitting about like a bee among the stove utensils.
Pei Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, and then he could clearly see what the girl was doing:
Stir-fried pork intestines?
When he saw it clearly, he was instantly startled.
"Wait, why did you buy this stinky stuff? This thing smells like it'll linger for days. If you're going to cook it, go outside and don't make my house dirty!"
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Zhi glanced at the man who was terrified and whose hair had stood on end, and coldly retorted to him.
"What foul smell do you detect?"
Pei Ye was taken aback, then carefully sniffed the air: sure enough, there was no overwhelming stench like he had smelled before; instead, the air was filled only with a pungent aroma.
As soon as he saw it, Jiang Zhi quickly used chopsticks to stir-fry the chopped scallions, garlic, and ginger that had just been added to the pot. The aroma wafted out instantly. At the same time, Jiang Zhi threw the dried chili peppers that had been prepared to the side into the pot, frying them in oil. The mixed aroma of the spices and oil instantly attracted Pei Ye's nose, making him stop in his tracks.
Next, he stared blankly as Jiang Zhi carefully added the sliced pig intestines and lungs one by one, quickly deep-fried them, then added a little salt, poured a ladle of water into the pot, and began to simmer it. While she was doing this, Jiang Zhi grabbed a handful of bagged rice noodles and threw them into the boiling pot on the other side.
However, at this moment, the aroma emanating from a large pot of meat sauce immediately filled the entire kitchen.
Pei Ye's eyes widened slightly, then he squinted and sniffed carefully. Sure enough, the fishy smell he had smelled before was gone.
Somewhat skeptical, he took a few steps forward and looked at the pot, just as Jiang Zhi opened the lid with one hand. The white steam mixed with the aroma immediately wafted onto his face. He silently swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
*
To make a good topping for pork stew, Jiang Zhi once summarized that there are three key points that can be used today: cut the intestines diagonally and the lungs along the grain; if you want to dry-fry the pork intestines, you can directly deep-fry the pork lungs; add orange peel and perilla for fragrance, but they must be added last or they will easily fall apart when cooked.
Jiang Zhi ladled out most of the soup from the pot, then scooped out the cooked rice noodles, rinsed them with cold water, and put them directly into the soup.
Then, turning around again, she saw Pei Ye's fixed gaze, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"Young master, would you like to try some?"
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